His saying, exalted and majestic is He: "Indeed, you do not guide whom you love, but Allah guides whom He wills, and He knows best the guided." "And they said, 'If we follow the guidance with you, we will be snatched away from our land.' Did We not establish for them a sacred sanctuary to which are brought the fruits of all things, as provision from Us? But most of them do not know." "And how many a town We destroyed that was ungrateful for its provision! Those are their dwellings, which have not been inhabited after them except for a little, and We were the inheritors."

All the interpreters have agreed that His saying, exalted and majestic is He: "Indeed, you do not guide whom you love" was revealed concerning Abu Talib, the uncle of the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him. Abu Huraira, Ibn al-Musayyib, and others said: "The Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, entered upon him while he was taking his last breaths, and he said to him: 'O my uncle, say: There is no god but Allah, a word by which I will bear witness for you before Allah.' And present with him were Abdullah ibn Umayyah and Abu Jahl, may Allah curse them. They said to him: 'Do you desire a religion other than that of Abdul Muttalib, O Abu Talib?' He said to them: 'O Muhammad, if it were not for the fear that my son would be blamed for it after me, I would have declared it to you.' Then Abu Talib said: 'I am upon the religion of Abdul Muttalib and the elders.' So the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, was saddened and left him, and Abu Talib died upon his disbelief. Thus this verse was revealed: "Indeed, you do not guide whom you love, but Allah guides whom He wills," indicating Abu Talib."

The pronoun in His saying: "And they said" refers to Quraysh. Ibn Mas'ud said: The speaker among them was Al-Harith ibn Nufayl. He intended to inform that the Arabs disapprove of them rejecting the idols and leaving the rule of ignorance by which they would be snatched away from their land. And His saying: "the guidance" means: according to your claim. Al-Thaalibi narrated from him that he said: "We certainly know that what you say is true, but if we follow you, the Arabs will snatch us away." So Allah, exalted and majestic is He, cut them off with the proof, meaning: Is not the fact that the sanctuary is for you among what We have made easy for you and We have restrained hands from you in it? So how would it be if you embraced Islam and followed My law and My religion? It has been narrated from Abu Amr: "We will be snatched away" with the letter 'fa' pronounced. And the security of the sanctuary is that no one is attacked or harmed in it. And His saying, exalted and majestic is He: "to which are brought the fruits of all things" means: they are gathered and brought. Nafi alone read: "are brought" with a 'ta' from above, while the others read: "is brought" with a 'ya' from below. The 'ta' from above has been narrated from Abu Amr, Abu Ja'far, and Shaiba ibn Nisaah. And His saying, exalted and majestic is He: "all things" refers to what is beneficial for their condition and the sustenance of their affairs, and it is not absolute in its generality. And Aban ibn Taghlib read: "the fruits" with a 'ta' and 'meem' pronounced.

Then Allah, the Most High, threatened Quraysh by striking the example of the destroyed towns. That is: do not be deceived by the sanctuary, safety, and the fruits that are gathered. For indeed, Allah, the Most High, will destroy the disbelievers as He has done in the past with the nations. And 'batarat' means: it acted foolishly, was arrogant, and transgressed, as said by Ibn Zayd and others. And 'ma'ishataha' is in the accusative case as an explanation, like His saying: 'He acted foolishly to himself' [Al-Baqarah: 130]. And Al-Akhfash said: it is as if the preposition was omitted, meaning: it acted foolishly in its livelihood. Then He referred them to reflect on the destruction of the homes of the destroyed nations, like the people of Thamud and others. The rest of the verse is clear.